Athletes who suffer concussion should follow a six-step, symptom-limited, return to play process towards return to game play and may require a longer rest period and/or extended period of non-contact exercise before return than adults because they have a different physiological response to concussion, take longer to recover, and have other unique risk factors.

Because the brain of the young athlete is still developing, with even subtle damage leading to learning deficits adversely affecting development, and with studies showing younger athletes recover more slowly than adults, a more conservative approach to concussions in children and teens than for older athletes is recommended.

When it comes to selecting family- and kids-focused activities, from day camps to swim meets, finding the right provider that takes the appropriate precautions to ensure children's' safety can seem overwhelming. But if you trust your instincts and do your research, you can keep your attention focused on what matters: Enjoying a fun summer with your kids!

If your child plays a contact or collision sport, whether at the youth, middle school or high school level, chances are they will suffer a concussion at some point in their athletic career. How quickly they recover may depend on how soon after injury - if at all - their concussion is identified so they can be removed from practice or game action. The problem is that concussion signs - still the best way to identify a concussion - are difficult to spot, and athletes often hide their symptoms.

One way to improve the chances that an athlete's brain injury is identified is for teams to employ a "buddy" system in which team members are assigned to watch for signs of concussion in designated teammates and, if they spot signs, or if their teammates tell them they are experiencing symptoms, are encouraged or required to immediately report the possible injury to the athletic trainer or the coach.

Are men who played high school football in Minnesota in the twenty-five years after World War II at increased risk of later developing dementia, Parkinson's or ALS compared with non-football playing high school males? Not according to two studies by researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

A study by researchers at Boston University finding that athletes who were less than 12 years old at the time of their first exposure to tackle football had more behavioral and cognitive problems later in life than those whose age of first exposure to the sport was later has, predictably, garnered a great deal of attention from the mainstream media. In the interest of balanced and objective reporting, we asked a number of researchers and clinicians to review and comment on the study. Here's what they told us.

Despite widespread media coverage and speculation regarding the late-life or post-retirement risks of cognitive impairment in athletes who engaged in sports involving repetitive blows to the head and high concussion risk, and assertions that CTE causes them to be at high risk of suicide, there have been virtually no peer-reviewed, well-designed scientific studies that establish, much less quantify, such risks.

The last three weeks have witnessed an all-out assault
on the game of football, not coincidentally timed with the beginning of NFL
training camps. First came a study reporting CTE in 110 of 111 brains of former
NFL players. Following closely on the heels of that media circus was the
publication last week of a new book by Dr. Bennet Omalu, Truth Doesn't Have a Side,
and interviews in which Dr. Omalu, as he has for several years, argues that
letting kids play football is the "definition" of child abuse. The not-so-surprising
result has been a tsunami of emails in my Inbox asking for my views on the
subject.

Are parents committing child abuse simply by allowing their kids to play a collision sport like football before middle school? Not unless it rises to the level of a callous and wanton disregard for a child's safety (e.g. reckless endangerment).

As someone who has been educating sports parents about head trauma in sports for the past seventeen years, and about the very real risk posed by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for the last decade, it is not surprising that I receive emails from parents all the time expressing deep concern about stories in the media that have led them - wrongly - to fear that playing contact or collision sports, or suffering a sports-related concussion, especially one slow to heal, makes it inevitable that their child will develop CTE and is at greatly increased risk of committing suicide.

As someone who has been educating sports parents about head trauma in sports for the past seventeen years, and about the very real risk posed by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for the last decade, it is not surprising that I receive emails from parents all the time expressing deep concern about stories in the media that have led them - wrongly - to fear that playing contact or collision sports, or suffering a sports-related concussion, especially one slow to heal, makes it inevitable that their child will develop CTE and is at greatly increased risk of committing suicide.